Strat Kingrey's

1957 Chevy 3100 NAPCO


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15 June 2007 Update
# 1938

From Strat :

           I've started the restoration process in earnest the last weekend in May! Turns out there was VERY little rust through on this truck ' cause it was sprayed with undercoating from front to back on every thing under there. I bought the patch panels but decided to cut only the bad spots. I have a lot of each panel left. The welding is easier than I thought it would be.

           The box / bed was removed for the restoration, only the floor is to be replaced. A lot of dents and dings, but it's all solid. The tail gate even had stencils on it.

           The truck will be left mostly original, only changes will be to the up-fit 4 wheel drive and I plan to repaint OD green. The paint code is even stamped "SPEC." I'm thinking about re-stenciling, also.

           My first restoration was a 1967 Camaro. It took 10 years to finish due to the car being a basket case.

           The Stovebolt forum has a lot of information, and the NAPCO web site, too (those guys have so much -- it's hard to make a decision). I don't know what I would have done had I not found these two sites. All of the work I've seen here is art!! I hope mine looks half as good as these. But I must say I've done more to my truck in the three weeks I've had it, than about three years of research / working on my car. I bet I'll have the truck rolling in six months. I wish I could have it ready to drive to "Cruise The Coast" in Mississippi in October.

Strat Kingrey
Bolter # 14588
Kinder, Louisiana

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11 May 2007
# 1938

From Strat :

           Hi all! This is my 1957 Chevy 3100. A friend of mine found this truck in Taos, New Mexico, took some pictures, and sent them to me in January. About two weeks later, I bought it. Finally in April, I got it home.

           The truck has a Chevy 235 L6 engine and 4-speed transmission. The axles are from a 1971 Chevy Blazer and it has a Napco transfer case. According to the Napco site, all up fits started with 4-speed trannies. The case needs to be mounted correctly, and that is next after the sheet metal is finished.

           It's missing the steering assembly and emergency brake assembly. The rest of the truck looks to be all original. The truck has OD green paint and U.S. ARMY on the doors and tail gate. There was a nomenclature tag screwed on the glove box door. After some more inspection, I think the truck was a hunting / firewood gathering truck (it was full of bark / wood chips, and shell casings) .

           Being down here in Louisiana, it will be painted to stop the rust. I can already see the bare spots starting to bloom. The rust has eaten through both bottom corners of the cab, and just a few square inches on the front fenders. The bottom hinge mount on the driver’s side is also bad.

           The wooden floor needs changing. For a 50 year old truck, it is still in very good shape.

           This picture was taken about 10 minutes before going to Louisiana. We were ready to head home. The pick up point was Taos, New Mexico and destination was Kinder, Louisiana. We did 1100 miles in 16 1/2 hours. The '05 Chevy got 11.9 mpg for the round trip. The home built trailer followed like a sports car.

           I am on the hunt for a donor truck (for mechanical parts) but they are hard to find. When I get the truck to a point where I can drive it to the car wash, I will send more pictures and as the work progresses.

With the best of regards,

Strat Kingrey
Bolter # 14588
Kinder, Louisiana


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